Search Climate Insights Directory

This briefing by RMI discusses the financial barriers to the adoption of zero-emission trucks (ZETs) in India and proposes the adaptation of global financial models—specifically risk-sharing facilities, tailored insurance, and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)—to accelerate market growth.

This briefing explains the nature and function of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, detailing how these national climate plans serve as frameworks for emissions targets, financial needs, and the global energy transition.

This guide by RMI explains the function, types, and potential of thermal batteries as a decarbonization tool for industrial heating and grid stability. It details how these systems convert renewable electricity into stored heat using abundant materials, offering a cheaper and less complex alternative to hydrogen for high-temperature industrial processes.

This guide, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and Porticus, provides a strategic framework for philanthropic organizations to advance the reform of environmentally harmful subsidies (EHS). It argues that redirecting a portion of the USD 2 trillion annually spent on EHS could significantly fund biodiversity and climate goals. The document outlines a theory of change based on defining problems, identifying solutions, and creating political support to open 'policy windows' for reform.

This briefing note by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) and E3G examines the intersection of global trade, climate policy, and the energy transition. It analyzes how the shift away from fossil fuels reshapes geopolitical power and trade flows, highlighting the disproportionate risks and opportunities for developing countries. The document advocates for proactive trade policy reforms, increased financial support, and international coordination to ensure an equitable transition that avoids protectionism and supports climate-resilient development in the Global South.

This fact sheet by RMI outlines low-carbon alternatives to conventional ammonia production, which currently relies on the carbon-intensive Haber-Bosch process and Steam-Methane Reforming, accounting for over 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

RMI proposes a 'whole-systems' approach to energy efficiency that combines electrification with 'energy end-use efficiency'—reducing the actual energy services required. By focusing on land-use, passive design, and material circularity, the report argues that overall energy demand can be reduced by 50-75% in some sectors, far exceeding the COP28 goal of a 4% annual improvement rate.

The report by the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI) analyzes the landscape of bilateral and multilateral agreements between African states and global powers to secure critical minerals essential for the green energy and digital transitions. It examines the strategies of twelve key actors—including China, Russia, the EU, and the US—highlighting a trend toward resource diplomacy driven by national security concerns and the need to diversify supply chains away from dominant suppliers.

This research paper proposes using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) framework as an organizing principle for transboundary conservation policy to address the fact that political borders rarely align with ecological boundaries.

This research paper examines how irrigation efficiency and water savings can lead to unintended consequences—categorized as paradoxes—that may impair river basin resilience and negatively impact ecological flows and non-irrigation water uses.

This research paper examines the use of interbasin water and wastewater transfers in Nogales, Sonora, to manage water scarcity driven by population growth, climate warming, and institutional asymmetries. It specifically analyzes the export of wastewater to the US and the Alisos basin, concluding that these strategies exacerbate water scarcity in Nogales and cause negative health, environmental, and livelihood impacts in the source basin.

This report by RMI uses polyester as a case study to analyze how product definitions and demand from retail sectors can accelerate the market for low-emissions chemicals. It identifies specific technological pathways to reduce the lifecycle emissions of polyester t-shirts and argues that setting emissions reduction thresholds at upstream stages (such as the PET resin step) is more effective at driving chemical industry decarbonization than setting them at the finished fabric stage.

This research paper examines water management challenges in arid and semiarid regions of the Americas, arguing that traditional integrated river basin management must be supplemented with approaches focusing on social, ecological, and hydroclimatic interactions to enhance resilience.

This research paper examines how water policies in the arid Americas interact with land and neoliberal policies to exacerbate vulnerabilities among disadvantaged groups across rural and urban settings. The authors analyze four specific case studies to demonstrate how disconnected management, water rights transfers, and competition for resources increase disparities and recommend more inclusive policymaking and systematic data collection to protect livelihoods.

This briefing by RMI analyzes the state of the global energy transition entering 2025, highlighting record growth in cleantech and falling costs despite ongoing challenges in methane reduction and energy efficiency.

This report by the World Resources Institute examines the critical role of recycled copper, particularly from end-of-life products, in meeting the surging demand driven by the clean energy transition. It highlights that while copper is indispensable for renewable energy and electric vehicles, mining faces significant constraints, making the scaling of circular supply chains essential for sustainability and supply security.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative evaluates the current state of net-zero disclosures among global banks, identifying significant gaps in comparability, scope, and alignment with 1.5°C pathways. Based on a stocktake of reference studies and an analysis of five Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs), the report argues that current claims of net-zero alignment often lack the necessary transparency and ambition to effectively support the energy transition.

A report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and Friends of the Earth US analyzing the risks and geographic scope of marine geoengineering technologies, arguing that these speculative interventions threaten all ocean basins and distract from fossil fuel phaseout.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) examines the environmental, climate, health, and financial risks associated with the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure. It highlights how improper closure and the proliferation of abandoned wells lead to methane leaks and toxic contamination, while corporate strategies and regulatory loopholes often shift the massive financial burden of cleanup from operators to the public.

The 'Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market H1 2025' report by the Climate Bonds Initiative provides a comprehensive analysis of aligned green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked (GSS+) debt. As of the end of H1 2025, the cumulative aligned volume reached USD 6.2 trillion, with H1 2025 alone contributing USD 555.8 billion. The report details the dominance of green bonds, the resurgence of social debt, the stability of sustainability-labelled debt, and the specific alignment trends of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs). It also highlights the introduction of the European Green Bond Standard, the rise of data-centre focused asset-backed securities, and the strategic priorities for COP30, including methane abatement and the Tropical Forest Forever Fund.